Over Hil and Ale
by phoebenpiper
Summary: Abby and the rest of the team join Becker and his sister for an enlightening evening at a pub, where Abby learns much more about the soldier than just his first name.  Takes place between 5.3 & 5.4.


Over Hil and Ale

a Primaeval fanfic by phoebenpiper

...

[Author's Note: This takes place between episodes 5.3 & 5.4 (even though there's not much time between the two!) I "introduced" Becker's sister Gwen in my story "Doctor's Orders" and decided she needed more time so we could see a different side of Becker. Special thanks to my Pip, who not only laughed at all the right spots but also came up with some of my best lines!]

...

Abby was still angry as she pulled into the car park. Over the last several weeks she'd grown used to Connor standing her up - some nights he didn't even bother to come home anymore - but she would've thought he'd make more of an effort for Becker.

"You promised him you'd come," Abby had reminded him only a half hour ago.

"I know, but..." Connor'd gestured vaguely to his lab equipment.

"We're at a breakthrough, Abby," April'd weighed in with a condescending glare. "This is important."

Resisting the urge to kickbox Connor's assistant, Abby'd explained, "So is this," before turning on her heel.

"Tell Becker I'm-"

But Abby hadn't heard the end of Connor's sentence over the sound of the slamming door. She'd fumed all the way to the pub, furious that Connor wouldn't even take a night off when clearly this meant a lot to Becker. In fact, the soldier had seemed almost desperate when he'd invited the two of them to the pub, as if his very well-being hinged on their presence, although she couldn't imagine why. Abby thus hoped that tonight her presence alone would suffice.

"Abby!"

The blonde turned at the sound of Matt's voice to see him and Emily making their way across the lot. Abby paused to wait for them, her anger slowly dissipating, to be replaced instead by amusement.

She gave Matt a wry smile as they reached her, to which he placidly replied, "Emily's still adjusting to being back in our time, so I figured I'd bring her along."

"Uh huh." While it was a good excuse for now, as Emily had only arrived yesterday from her old life in Victorian times, Abby got the distinct feeling that Matt would still be "bringing her along" months from now and wondered if he'd ever admit the real reason for wanting Emily at his side.

Not knowing exactly how much Matt had filled Emily in on the current situation, Abby asked him cryptically, "Any news yet?" She hadn't heard a thing from him since she'd handed over Connor's copied hard drive, and she was anxious to know what he'd learned.

But Matt shook his head. "I'm worried that it might be encrypted, so I'm running an anti-encryption program on it overnight. We should know something in the morning."

Abby nodded, hoping he was right.

Clearly Emily had been briefed on what was going on with Philip for, instead of asking what they were talking about, she asked instead, "Why are we meeting Captain Becker here?" as they neared the pub's entrance.

"His sister is visiting," Matt answered simply as he held the door open for the ladies.

Looking around the crowded pub, Abby's eyes searched the dimly-lit room and alighted on a girl who, even if she hadn't been sitting across from Becker, would've been instantly recognisable as his sister. The girl had the same dark hair and penetrating eyes as the soldier, not to mention his expressive eyebrows. As the two siblings stood to greet the newcomers, Abby realised the girl shared Becker's height as well, being at least as tall as Connor.

Abby also noticed the look of sheer relief on Becker's face upon their arrival, although he raised a questioning eyebrow at her as she and the others reached the booth.

Shaking her head, she explained succinctly, "Connor's not coming."

Becker responded with a knowing nod before introducing, "Gwen, I'd like you to meet Abby Maitland."

"It's so nice to finally meet you," Gwen said with such enthusiasm that Abby wondered what exactly Becker had told his sister about her.

"I'm Matt Anderson," Matt said, offering his hand next.

As Gwen politely took his hand, Abby saw the girl give her brother a meaningful look, to which Becker responded with an annoyed eyeroll. Abby grinned - at heart she was still an animal behaviourist, and sometimes she couldn't help but step back and observe her fellow human beings as one might observe animals in the wild. From the way things were shaping up so far, she got the distinct impression that tonight was going to be a real education.

"And this is Emily Merchant," Matt introduced.

"'Lady' Emily Merchant," she automatically corrected. Matt shot her a concerned look, reminding her that she was no longer the Lady she'd been only a few days before. "But just Emily is fine," she quickly added, graciously extending her hand.

"It's lovely to meet you, Emily," Gwen said hesitantly, throwing her brother a puzzled look before adding, "I'm Gwendolyn Becker, but just Gwen is fine." She gave her brother another look, which he responded to with a blank expression. Sighing, she suggested, "Shall we take a seat?"

As they all sat down in the booth, with Gwen joining her brother across from the other three, Abby noticed the family resemblance even more. She was also highly amused and intrigued by the siblings' almost constant silent communication.

"So I have to ask," Abby began. "Are you two twins?"

Gwen laughed. "Twins? Hil wishes!"

Becker rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Technically we're Irish twins."

"Hil!" Gwen scolded at the use of the derogatory phrase, nodding almost imperceptibly towards Matt.

"Irish?" Emily asked, clearly confused as she looked from the Beckers to Matt and back. "Your accents don't sound Irish."

Becker shook his head. "Not Irish; 'Irish twins'. We were born in the same year."

"But I will ALWAYS be older," Gwen added smugly, "something Hil would rather not remember."

Abby laughed and added knowingly, "But you won't let him forget."

"Exactly," Gwen said, her dark eyes flashing. "Let me guess, Abby - you have a younger brother, too?"

"Does she," Becker grumbled under his breath.

Although Abby couldn't really blame Becker for his reaction - after all, he'd almost died thanks to Jack's recklessness - she couldn't help getting her back up.

"Jack may not be a model citizen, but he's not that bad," she said, sounding more defensive than she'd meant to.

Gwen raised a questioning eyebrow at her brother, who answered with a nod and a mumbled, "Ian."

Emily must've been just as confused as Abby by this private interchange for she asked directly, "Who is Ian?"

"A headache," Becker grumbled, causing his sister to elbow him.

"You're one to talk, Hil - you invite your friends over and then don't even buy them a round."

Becker sighed and stood up. "Be right back," he said, heading off towards the bar.

Abby was completely fascinated, having never seen this side of Becker before. At work he was usually a good little soldier who willingly followed orders from his superiors, although not without a hint of sarcasm at times; yet she'd never truly seen him quite so servile. Clearly Gwen was enjoying the power she wielded over him for her eyes flashed with mischief.

Or perhaps her look was merely delight at finally having her brother's coworkers alone for a moment. She eagerly leaned forward, but before she could question them, Emily, who was not one to be so easily put off, asked again, "So who is Ian?"

"Oh, he's our little brother," Gwen explained. "The baby, as it were. A bit of a black sheep, spoiled and all that. Little ambition, terrible follow-through, constantly in trouble - drives Hil CRAZY!"

"Hill?" Abby had noticed Gwen call him that earlier and was curious.

Gwen nodded. "Isn't that what you lot call him?"

Abby and the others shook their heads.

"Then what DO you call him?" Gwen asked warily, eyeing her brother's workmates suspiciously.

Abby suddenly felt like a right fool. After all these years, after all they'd been through together, she'd never even thought to wonder what the Captain's first name was.

"I've only ever heard him referred to as Captain Becker or merely Becker," Emily replied, but Abby could tell by the look on Gwen's face that she'd already made that deduction.

Unfortunately for him, Becker chose that exact moment to return to the table, carefully balancing five pints. Gwen wisely waited until he'd set the glasses down before scolding, "Hilary James Becker, you should be ashamed of yourself! You should be PROUD to be named after Grandfather."

"Fine," he said with a shrug, taking his seat again next to his sister. "If you're so proud, Gwendolyn, YOU can be named after him." And with that, he took a giant swig of his ale.

"Hilary?" Abby tried to suppress her amusement. While she'd never really thought about what Becker's first name might be, Hilary was the last name she ever would've guessed. The name simply didn't fit the bold, stoic soldier.

Emily, however, didn't seem to be having the same difficulty processing this information for she commented genuinely, "Hilary is a lovely name."

"Exactly," Gwen said, glaring at her brother. However, it seemed to have no effect, for Becker simply returned his sister's gaze unflinchingly. Eventually she gave a frustrated sigh before threatening, "I'm telling Mum."

Becker laughed. "Go ahead."

"Hilary!"

Abby couldn't help but snicker - it sounded so wrong for someone to be yelling at Becker, let alone calling him that! Unfortunately, her reaction elicited glares from both siblings, so she quickly picked up her pint, trying to hide her smile behind the glass.

"Grandfather was a hero, Hil," Gwen continued. "If it weren't for him, half of London might've burnt down in the Blitz. Mum would be appalled."

"Mum knows how I feel about Grandfather ... and about my name." He shook his head, sighing, before mumbling into his pint, "At least Connor's not here."

Abby took another sip, trying to suppress yet another laugh. Becker was right - Connor would've loved to learn that Action Man's name was actually Hilary, and if Abby weren't so sore at Connor at present, she would've texted him on the spot. But as it was, she decided she could actually use the situation to her advantage - she'd been wanting Becker's assistance moving some things about in the Menagerie, and now perhaps she could bribe him to help her by swearing not to tell Connor his deep, dark secret.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!"

All heads turned to see Jess scurrying towards them, her high heels clicking across the wooden floor.

"Lester was having trouble with his computer, and I still totally owed him for the whole Admiral/coffee thing, so I simply had to stay and help." Becker nodded, clearly the only one at the table who understood Jess's cryptic comment, as she rushed on. "Some people are absolutely clueless when it comes to computers. I don't think Lester even KNOWS how to delete his old emails. And can you believe it - he's never defragged his hard drive. Like EVER! No wonder his computer is so slow. So I helped him clear a bunch of space and set it to defrag overnight, but it took way longer than I thought so I totally lost track of time. I'm so sorry I'm late. And you must be Gwen," she said, extending her hand across the table. "I'm Jess Parker. It's so nice to finally meet you in person. You know, I think we actually spoke on the phone once."

Gwen was grinning broadly as she shook Jess's hand. "Yes, I believe we did. And yes, it's marvelous to finally meet you as well."

While the others may not have noticed what had been going on across the booth as Jess arrived, Abby had certainly not missed the siblings' reactions. The moment the petite field coordinator, wearing a bright orange minidress, had appeared, Gwen shot her brother an evil, knowing grin. Although Becker's facial expression didn't perceptibly change, he clenched his jaw and surreptitiously elbowed his sister, and Abby could've sworn that a slight flush started to creep across the soldier's face. As Jess had nattered on and on, the two Beckers had continued to nudge and elbow each other like a couple of unruly schoolkids, their friendly battle slowly building in intensity until culminating in Becker physically shoving his sister over in the seat, ostensibly to make room for Jess.

"So," Jess said, blithely sitting down next to Becker, clearly oblivious to the reactions she was causing. "What've I missed?"

Emily seemed blind to the sibling interactions as well for she reported matter-of-factly, "Captain Becker's first name is Hilary; he's named after his grandfather, who apparently was a hero in some sort of war or other; and they have a younger brother named Ian whom Becker doesn't like."

The soldier turned to glare at his sister, suspicious of what she must've said in his absence.

Jess, however, looked unphased by Emily's news. Turning to Becker, she calmly inquired, "I thought Ian was back at school. Did he drop out again?"

Abby, on the other hand, was flabbergasted that Jess hadn't even reacted to Emily's first statement. "Jess, did you know Becker's first name was Hilary?"

"Of course," Jess said with a shrug. "I've read everyone's files."

Abby couldn't believe it! Jess had known Becker's first name all this time yet she'd never even hinted at it, let alone given it away. Becker seemed impressed by her discretion as well for he gave Jess a look of extreme gratitude, a look that didn't go unnoticed by his sister, who meaningfully elbowed him.

When Becker turned his head to glare, Gwen nodded towards Jess. "Where are your manners, Hil? Aren't you going to buy Jess a drink?"

Abby watched as Becker looked back and forth from his sister to Jess, clearly torn. Whilst obviously his natural instincts were to be a gentleman and go buy Jess a pint, he was no doubt nervous about leaving his sister alone with her.

And while Abby didn't relish the idea of missing a moment of this fascinating interchange, she decided to be a good friend and come to his rescue. "It's easier for me to go," she illustrated by sliding out from her position on the end of the booth. "And does anyone need a refill?"

Becker downed the rest of his ale and held up his empty glass. When their eyes met, he gave Abby a grateful nod, which she acknowledged with a smile before hurrying off to the bar.

It had been obvious from the moment Abby had first met Jess that the girl had a massive unrequited crush on Becker. However, over time, Abby had slowly gotten the distinct feeling that the attraction was not quite so one-sided as it first appeared. Becker had never been particularly demonstrative, but Abby had begun to notice little things he said and did that made her suspect that he liked Jess more than he let on. Until now, though, she'd had nothing specific to hang her hat on that proved her suspicions.

But from what Abby had witnessed tonight, there was no longer any question in Abby's mind as to Becker's feelings.

_Poor Becker,_ Abby thought as she ordered two pints from the barkeep. _No wonder he was desperate for us to be here - he'd clearly wanted back-up, to be spared the torment of being alone with just Jess and his sister._

And who could blame him? Abby was well aware that no one was capable of inflicting such thorough humiliation as a sibling. After all, that's why she'd asked Connor to stay elsewhere when Jack had come to visit all those years ago - at the time, she hadn't yet come to terms with how she truly felt about Connor, so she'd been eager to avoid any awkward questions that might've arisen over their being "flatmates". And after the grief she'd given Jack over his first girlfriend, she knew to expect no less from him. Abby was suddenly overcome with guilt, thinking of how badly she'd mistreated her baby brother. _I really need to call him,_ she reminded herself as she accepted the two pints from the barkeep and hurried back to the table.

Becker accepted his glass with a grateful nod and immediately took a long drink, giving Abby some indication of how things had been going during her absence, even though the current conversation seemed benign enough. Abby tried to catch up, realising that they were now discussing the Beckers' older sister.

"So she works in the AGC now?" Matt was asking.

Gwen nodded. "Fiona's a part of the ETS - the Educational and Training Services," she quickly explained to Emily's questioning look.

"It's a perfect fit for her," Becker said, shaking his head as he added under his breath, "Bossiest girl alive."

"Present company excepted, I'm sure," Matt teased, nodding subtly towards Emily.

"Matt!" Jess scolded as Abby's jaw dropped in surprise. Emily, however, merely shrugged the comment off and turned back to Gwen, asking in bewilderment, "I don't quite understand. So you're saying that your sister is not only IN the military but actually teaches for them?" Despite her own self-sufficiency, clearly this concept was completely foreign to her Victorian values.

"Emily," Matt warned, giving her a look that implied that she was treading on dangerous ground.

Emily heeded his admonition and quickly apologised. "I'm sorry. The concept is just so new to me."

"Emily's led a...uh...rather sheltered life," Matt explained rather clumsily as Gwen shot her brother a curious look, one he placidly returned.

"So Gwen, what are you here in London for?" Jess asked, quickly changing the subject, attempting to alleviate all the awkwardness the last topic had produced.

She mostly succeeded, too, if only for a brief moment.

"A wedding, actually," Gwen answered. "My best mate from school."

"Oh, I LOVE weddings!" Jess chirped, causing Becker to raise his glass and take a long drink so he wouldn't have to see the knowing grin on his sister's face.

...

"Excuse me," Abby said, standing up. "I'm off to the loo. Be right back."

"Brilliant idea, Abby," Gwen said, shoving her brother to get him to move. "I'll come with you." Abby waited as Jess and Becker stood up, allowing Gwen to get out, before the two girls set off together towards the back of the pub.

The moment they were out of earshot, the taller girl said, "I was really hoping I'd have a moment to talk to you alone."

Abby looked up at her curiously. "About what?"

"I've been dying to know - did you ever find out what happened to Danny?"

Abby stopped in her tracks, staring up at the girl. She had no idea what to say because she had no idea what Becker had told her. Abby'd never discussed what had happened to Danny, nor to her and Connor, for that matter, with anyone outside of the ARC, and she was frankly shocked that Becker, who was usually so uptight about the rules, had done so.

Gwen must've seen her hesitation for she quickly explained, "I know you can't give me details - Official Secrets Act and all that - but I just wanted to know if you'd found out anything? Do you even know if he's alive? Did he ever make it back from his mission?"

Abby breathed a sigh of relief, realising she wouldn't have to break any confidences to answer the girl's questions. "Yes, Danny's still alive, or at least he was last time we saw him. He made it back from his...mission," she said, using the same phrase Gwen, and no doubt Becker, had used, "but immediately left again on another one."

Gwen, too, seemed relieved. "I'm so glad. I figured Hil would've mentioned it if there'd been bad news, but he's not very communicative these days."

Abby snorted. "These days?" she repeated, finding it hard to believe that Becker was EVER communicative.

Gwen smiled. "Yeah, he's never exactly been a chatterbox. But he was really affected by what happened to you lot. I mean, Hil's never quit anything in his life, so when he-"

"Wait," Abby interrupted, not quite sure she'd heard correctly. "Becker quit?"

"Didn't you know?"

Abby shook her head.

Gwen sighed, momentarily lost in her own memories, before explaining, "I still remember the night he showed up in tears on my doorstep. I hadn't seen him cry since I pushed him out of the treehouse when we were five, so I knew something was really wrong. At first he wouldn't say much, but if anyone can get stuff out of him, it's me! So eventually he told me how you and Connor and Danny had gone on some dangerous mission and disappeared, and how none of the rescue missions had succeeded, and how Sarah - that was her name, right? - had been killed. He'd failed, he told me; let all of you down. He said he simply couldn't do it anymore, couldn't watch his friends die, so he'd quit, simply walked out. It was heartbreaking to see his spirit so destroyed - it simply wasn't the Hil I knew anymore."

Abby nodded absently. Her mind was reeling from this new information. Abby had heard about the failed missions to rescue them, but she'd never known that Becker had actually quit. The soldier was usually so stoic and sarcastic; it was almost inconceivable that he'd risked his future military career over them.

"So what happened?" Abby asked. "I mean, I know what happened to us, but what happened to him?"

"Well obviously I was frightfully worried about him - the whole family was - so I forced him to stay with me for awhile, just to make sure he didn't descend any further. Then the entire operation was suspended, and I feared that I'd never get my brother back."

It now occurred to Abby that she didn't know much of what had happened at the ARC when she and Connor were gone. Everything had changed when they'd returned, but she'd never really wondered how things had gotten that way. She now realised that she and Connor weren't the only ones to have struggled that year. In just a short period of time, Becker had lost every person he was supposed to be protecting , so it was no wonder that he'd fallen apart.

"When they reopened the operation," Gwen continued, "I naturally encouraged him to return. He didn't think he could do it, but I knew the best thing for him would be to jump back into it. I was right, of course - once back to work, he seemed so much better, though I could tell he was still torn up inside because he continued to tell me everything." Gwen paused, smiling to herself, and Abby wondered what exactly she was remembering - something about her brother's descriptions of the pretty new field coordinator perhaps? After a moment she went on, "Anyway, then you and Connor returned, and it was like I finally had my brother back again. Unfortunately that meant he was back to being an uncommunicative git, which is why he never bothered to let me know about Danny." The girl smiled gratefully at Abby. "Thanks for telling me."

"No, thank YOU," Abby said, eternally grateful for having been given a glimpse into her hard-to-read coworker's mindset.

Thinking about Becker sitting back at the booth, Abby realised he might be getting nervous that they were taking so long. "We should probably get to the loo," she said, leading the way to the back.

"Yes, but Abby," Gwen insisted as they entered the tiny room, "before we go back, I want to hear all about Jess!"

...

Abby glanced at her watch and gasped - she couldn't believe she and Gwen had been gossiping in the loo for almost 15 minutes.

"We best be getting back," Abby said, imagining how frantic Becker must be by now. She quickly flung open the door, causing Jess, who had just been on her way in, to fall inside.

"Jess! You okay?" Abby asked as she caught hold of her friend.

"I'm fine," Jess said with a cheerful nod as Abby helped her regain her balance on her high heels.

"Let me guess," Gwen said, a wry smile on her face. "Hil sent you to check on us?"

"Don't be silly," Jess said, sounding surprised at the suggestion as she squeezed past them and hurried into the stall. Through the closed door, she then admitted, "Well, he might've mentioned something about the two of you having been gone a frightfully long time, but that's not why I came in. Truth is, ale always goes straight through me."

The toilet flushed and Jess scurried out of the stall, squeezing past the girls to get to the sink. Abby was amazed at the girl's speed but realised it must be a skill she'd honed as field coordinator.

"So, Gwen," Jess began, washing her hands. "May I ask you a question about your brother?"

Gwen shot Abby an amused look before answering, "Of course. Ask me anything."

"Do you know what size he is?"

Abby choked in utter shock at Jess's cheek, but the girl continued unabashed, "See, his birthday is coming up, and I saw this lovely jacket the other day that I thought would be perfect for him, but I realised I had no idea what size he wears - it's not like that sort of thing is listed in his personnel file. I considered trying to find out his size myself by checking the clothes in his locker, but I thought that might seem a bit too...stalkery, you know?" Jess blushed self-consciously, as if this wasn't the first time she'd considered breaking into his locker, before finishing, "But then I realised, as his sister, you must know his size."

Gwen nodded, but before she had a chance to answer, the door was thrown open, crashing into Abby's shoulder.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Abby," Emily apologised as she realised what she'd done.

"That's okay," Abby said, rubbing her sore shoulder.

"Do you need to go, too, Emily?" Jess asked, trying to make room for Emily to get to the stall.

Emily, however, shook her head. "Captain Becker sent me in here to make certain that no one had fallen in." Emily gave the other girls crammed into the small space a once-over before observing, "It seems you're all accounted for."

Abby laughed. "I think that's our hint that we should be getting back to the table."

"Yes, I'm sure Hil's practically apoplectic by now," Gwen said as the four girls piled out of the tiny room.

Abby was certain Gwen would be proved correct, but as they neared the table, Becker looked as unruffled as ever. However, the five emptied ale glasses in front of him belied his calm exterior. His eyes sought out Abby's, obviously looking for some sort of reassurance that everything was okay, but she quickly looked away, suddenly feeling guilty for having revealed so much to his sister.

As Matt stood to let Emily slide back into the booth, she announced matter-of-factly to Becker, "None of them had fallen in." Matt gave her a look, to which she replied, "What? That's what he asked me to check."

"Oh, Gwen!" Jess exclaimed, having suddenly remembered, "You never answered my question."

"Later, Jess. Later," Gwen replied, producing a look of sheer terror in her brother's eyes.

...

Abby was just about to absently eat yet another cold, soggy, vinegar-soaked chip when she thought she heard her mobile ring. She pulled it out of her pocket and instantly recognised the number.

"Excuse me," she said, sliding out of the booth and hurrying away from the noisy conversation at the table before answering, "Hey."

"Where are you?" Connor asked.

"At the pub with Becker and his sister." _Where you should be_, she added silently to herself.

"Still?"

Abby pulled the phone from her ear to glance at the time and was shocked to find that it was almost midnight. "Sorry. Guess we lost track of time," she admitted. "Where are you?"

"I'm home. Alone!" he added for emphasis, clearly annoyed that she wasn't there.

Abby momentarily felt guilty until it dawned on her that he was undoubtedly just getting home himself.

_This isn't how things are supposed to be_, Abby thought with a sigh before promising, "I should be home soon."

"Whatever. I'll probably be asleep - I have an important meeting with Philip first thing tomorrow."

And before Abby even had a chance to say goodbye, Connor hung up on her.

Abby sighed again, tucking her phone back away. She hated how things were between them right now, but she didn't know what else she could do. Talking to him hadn't helped; in fact, it had seemed to drive yet another wedge between them. She felt him slipping further and further away, and he didn't even seem to care how distant they'd become. She only hoped that Matt would be able to figure out what Philip was planning - if so, perhaps she'd finally be able to get through to Connor. But if not...

Abby tried to shake the thought from her head as she returned to the table.

"Connor?" Jess asked, and Abby nodded.

"Is everything okay?" Matt asked, giving her a meaningful look.

"Yeah," Abby said, trying to put on a good face. "It's late, so he was just checking in. ... He sends his regards," she added as an afterthought. Of course he hadn't, but Abby didn't want the rest of them to know just how far he'd slipped from the normal, friendly Connor they all knew.

"It is late," Matt said, checking his watch, "and we all have work in the morning." He turned to Emily to add, "We should be getting home."

Abby noticed the intrigued look that Gwen flashed her brother and, feeling strangely protective of Emily's reputation, quickly explained, "Emily just recently moved here, so she's staying with Matt till she can find her own place."

While her explanation seemed to calm Gwen's curiosity, it had the opposite effect on Emily. The former Victorian shot Matt a panicked look, clearly horrified at the thought of living on her own, or perhaps merely living apart from him again so soon. He gave her a reassuring look, which seemed to quell her fears but only piqued Gwen's interest.

Clearly sensing the awkwardness, Jess quickly said, "We should all probably be getting home."

Abby reluctantly stood up again as the others emerged from the booth. She had thoroughly enjoyed herself this evening and, much as she hated to admit it, was not looking forward to going home to Connor. The realisation that she hoped he would be asleep when she got home made her heartsick. _How have things gotten this bad?_ she wondered.

Jess must've noticed Abby's mood for she placed a concerned hand on her shoulder, asking, "Everything okay?"

Abby nodded, but at Jess's doubtful look, she said aloud, "It'll be fine. I'm just tired."

Jess accepted this explanation and turned back to Matt and Emily, who were saying their goodbyes.

"Fare thee well, Gwendolyn. It was lovely to meet you," Emily said, shaking Gwen's hand.

"Likewise, Lady Emily," Becker's sister said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Emily didn't catch her teasing tone and shot Matt a concerned look, worried that she'd said something wrong again. Matt shook his head, letting her know everything was okay, before turning to Abby. Giving her a meaningful look, he said, "I'll see you in the morning."

Abby nodded in understanding. The anti-encryption program should've finished running by then, and hopefully the data it revealed would give them some sort of clue as to what Philip was up to.

"Goodnight, all," Matt said with a wave as he led Emily towards the door.

When Abby turned back to the others, she saw Gwen handing Jess a folded piece of paper, explaining, "The answer to your question."

Becker looked warily back and forth between the two girls, and Jess's eager smile when she unfolded the note did nothing to assuage his anxiety. The girl's reaction also made Abby wonder what else, besides Becker's shirt size, Gwen had written down for the girl.

The four of them made their way out of the pub, chattering as they went. But as they reached the mostly empty car park, Becker looked around before asking, "Jess, where'd you park?"

"Just a few blocks away," she said, explaining, "There weren't any spaces left when I got here."

Becker nodded and turned towards the other two. "I should probably walk Jess to her car," he announced matter-of-factly, refusing to acknowledge his sister's knowing smile.

"Gwen, it was SO nice to meet you," Jess said, enthusiastically shaking her hand goodbye.

"Likewise," Gwen said. She then gave the wee girl a meaningful look, saying: "And I mean it, Jess. Just let me know."

Jess replied, "Oh, definitely," as Becker shot Abby a questioning look, one she could only answer with a confused shrug.

Jess then turned to Becker, saying, "My car's this way," as the two of them set off down the darkened street. Jess gave a final "Goodnight" over her shoulder before the couple disappeared behind a building.

As Gwen watched them go, she shook her head, mumbling under her breath, "He's hopeless."

Abby laughed. "I wouldn't give up on him just yet. He's getting better. He might make his move. ... Eventually," she qualified when Gwen raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"I don't know," the tall girl said, shaking her head. "I'm not even sure he's admitted to himself how much he cares for her. Knowing Hil, it'd probably take some sort of life-and-death situation before he'd ever get around to it."

Abby smiled to herself - knowing the sort of work they did at the ARC, "some sort of life-and-death situation" could be just around the corner.

...


End file.
